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Peter Oborne doesn’t mince his words. Tony Blair? “One of the worst prime ministers that Britain has ever had.” Alistair Campbell? “A habitual liar.” The MPs accused of abusing their position for their own financial gain? “Cheats and thieves.” This candid approach has contributed to Oborne becoming one of the most respected political commentators in the country, and one of New Labour’s most feared enemies. Not that he’s everybody’s cup of tea. Andrew Marr has referred to him in the past as a “sanctimonious ****". Not that that would bother Oborne in the slightest. Having swapped The Spectator for The Mail in 2006, a decision that he admits he found incredibly hard, he has provided a lively and constant critique of the government. His intellectual challenge to the party has not gone unnoticed, he was banned from Labour premises during the 2005 election.

 

Oborne is a prolific writer, with four books to his name in addition to his newspaper works. He has also ventured into television, presenting several shows for Channel 4 in 2007 – “Gordon Brown: fit for office?” and “Why politicians can’t tell the truth”. A programme he presented a year after, ‘It shouldn’t happen to a Muslim’, fashioned much controversy. He argued that the demonization of Muslims has become prevalent in British media and politics, and says much of the blame lies, once more, with New Labour. “Muslims have been slurred as terrorists”, he claims. Another contentious move from Oborne was to pen the pamphlet “the pro Israel lobby in Britain”, outlining the influences enjoyed by pro-Israel lobbyists within political and media circles in the United Kingdom. Oborne concluded that Britain's pro-Israel lobby needs to be far more open about how it is funded and what its purpose is, because “politics in a democracy should never take place behind closed doors. It should be out in the open for all to see.” What Oborne says may not always be popular, but he is constantly seeking to generate honest and fulfilling answers to vitally important questions. He is not afraid to speak his mind, making him one of the finest political writers of his generation. In an article published in The Evening Standard in 2005, he explained why he believes “the US is now our great enemy.” Oborne wrote of how his generation was brought up in awe of the United States, but the country now poses the greatest threat to world civilisation, with global warming the main reason for this observation. Not many in the British press would dare be so scathing about a country many still see as our greatest ally. To put it bluntly, he’s got guts. 

With a general election this week, New Labour may well find themselves out of power if opinion polls are to be believed. After thirteen years in power, I wondered how Oborne thought this government would be recalled in the future. “Tony Blair will be remembered as one of the worst Prime Ministers that Britain has ever had. He had a great opportunity, and he was unbelievably popular when New Labour came to power, you can’t imagine how popular now. He had an uncritical media, and enjoyed a vast majority in Parliament, but he never understood how to govern. New Labour has done enormous damage to the economy in the long term, and Blair harmed British institutions such as Parliament and the Civil Service greatly.” 

Oborne’s dislike for Blair is evident. “He openly lied and damaged public discourse in doing so. With the Iraq war, he did enormous harm to Britain’s international reputation.” 

How then, if the Conservatives were to win the election, would David Cameron differ in his approach to the role of Prime Minister? “I hope that Cameron will be a Prime Minister that governs in the traditional way that British Prime Ministers have come to govern. He needs to respect the Cabinet, respect the Civil Service and be honest and straightforward, not deceiving the public."

After the deception of which Oborne criticises Labour, he would prefer to see a more honest approach if Cameron was to reside at Number Ten.

“I hope he would be even-handed and display partisanship. He needs to make sure that he is not over impressed by rich and powerful men, in the way that Blair was with President Bush.”

Oborne would prefer to see a shift away from the increasing presidential style of governing that was evident in abundance under Blair.

“Cameron should weaken the power of the Prime Minister and build up local power structures, and allow them, to a degree, to govern themselves.”

Out of all of the alterations to British politics over the last fifteen years, the element of spin incorporated by New Labour particularly angers Oborne significantly. He wrote a highly critical autobiography of Alistair Campbell, Labour’s chief spin doctor, in 1999. The powerful positions bestowed to media moguls such as Campbell, he insists, are simply “undemocratic”. 

“They have been part of the process of creating enormous cynicism and mistrust in politics. The British media must also bear some responsibility. Politics became an insider’s game, with deals between those insiders and the governing elite. These shadowy henchmen became more influential than members of the Cabinet. Campbell, like Blair, was a habitual liar. His role was undemocratic.”

Oborne is adamant that Labour is accountable for a vast deal of damage to this country.

“The last ten to fifteen years have been an attack by New Labour on the rule of law. They have replaced traditional British freedom with a much more autocratic, populist and illegal state. Justice has become a financial transaction. Muslims have been slurred as terrorists.”

 This is a subject about which Oborne clearly feels strongly. His belief in the protection of the individual’s rights leads to him working with Jesse Norman, the impressive prospective Tory MP for Hereford, on a pamphlet entitled ‘The Conservative Case For The Human Rights Act.’

“The Conservative party has argued, somewhat persuasively, that although it (the Human Rights Act) protects rights it is in some way hostile and needs altering” Oborne begs to differ, stating the case for retaining the Human Rights Act.

“The last ten to fifteen years have been an attack by New Labour on the rule of law. They have replaced traditional British freedom with a much more autocratic, populist and illegal state. Justice has become a financial transaction. Muslims have been slurred as terrorists. We need to be very clear about the rights of minorities, and make sure they are protected, something Labour has failed to do. This is what the Human Rights Act does, despite its flaws.” 

In his Daily Mail column, Oborne has stated that this election must be a choice between honesty and dishonesty. If politicians were able to be as honest and frank with their views as Oborne is, maybe the electorate would have a little more trust in Parliament.